Languages

The Languages Program advances students' literacy and prepares them to stand alongside their international peers in a globalised, multilingual world. Students gain core life and career skills in communicating with people from other language backgrounds and cultures who may have different experiences, expectations and values. All communication tasks are in Indonesian, with reflection tasks in English.

At Wallan Secondary College (WSC), all students at Years 7 and 8 learn the Indonesian language (bahasa Indonesia), and may continue their studies of Indonesian until VCE Units 3 & 4; our program is accelerated from Year 9, so students may complete Units 3 & 4 by the end of Year 11.

Indonesian is the official language of our nearest neighbour, the Republic of Indonesia, and Malay (the language upon which it is based) is spoken in Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, East Timor, southern Thailand, and Australia's Cocos Islands and Christmas Island.

Our students and teachers are leaders in the renewal of language learning in Australia. For several years, we have been successful in gaining scholarships for our students to participate in a statewide study tour for Year 10s to an Indonesian school, including leadership by WSC of that program. Students have also participated in language immersion camps within Victoria.

Our Languages program has been a platform for leadership in the wider area of 'Asia Literacy,' including our inclusion in Phase 1 of the Malaysia Victoria Sister Schools' Program, sponsored by the Australian Government. Several students have also participated in the Johor International Student Leadership Conference in Malaysia. We are developing curriculum collaboration with two schools- the Sheikh Abdul Malek School (SHAMS) in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, and SMAK Rajawali in Makassar, Indonesia.

Our work in Indonesian language and Asia Literacy has been recognised by an award for "Excellence in Multicultural Education" from the Victorian Multicultural Commission.

Students get the opportunity to engage with native-speaking teachers and other native-speakers both locally and internationally, through an excellent network of supporters within the Indonesian community.

Our languages teachers have recently been engaged by DEECD to create online Indonesian teaching and learning resources and have undertaken professional development in "Content and Language Integrated Learning" (CLIL). From the beginning of 2013, a partnership with Beveridge Primary School (BPS) also means that BPS students have started to learn Indonesian with twice-weekly classes taught by WSC Indonesian teachers.